Ideally, the typical public auction contains a number of
rarities to appeal to advanced buyers and to create publicity, backed up by
thousands of "regular" coins in many different series, to fill the
needs of specialists in nearly every numismatic area. While the emphasis in many
our sales is on early American and United States coins, we handle significant
amounts of currency as well, and over the years we have had many notable
specialized sales in the fields of tokens and medals and foreign and ancient
coins.
As auctioneer we represent both the seller (known as the
consignor) and the buyer (the bidder). In the early stages of auction planning,
emphasis is on the seller. What type of collection does he or she have? When
should it be sold and where? The answers vary. One client, an Ohio gentleman,
had a small hoard of nearly a dozen 1794 silver dollars, a classic American
rarity of which only about 130 specimens are known to exist. It was left up to
us how to present them for sale. Rather than include all of the pieces in a
single sale, we spread them out, one or two per sale, over a period of time.
Undoubtedly, the prices realized were higher that way.
On the other hand, when we sold coins from the Virgil Brand
estate on behalf of the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company and the heirs of Jane
Brand Allen, we decided to sell a remarkable hoard of superb Uncirculated Cuban
one-peso gold coins in a group of lots in a single sale. This turned out to be
the right thing to do, for anyone who had ever wanted to own one of these
sparkling little coins made it a point to bid, and the prices set new records.
Similarly, we once sold a client's holding of six MCMVII
High Relief double eagles in a single sale, and the coming together in one
catalogue of so many superb pieces drew a great deal of attention, and all
agreed that the prices were higher for each piece than if just one or two had
been offered.
Often a client will have preferences. One gentleman wanted
his coins sold in New York City in June, because that time of year was ideal for
him and his family to attend the sale and combine it with a vacation trip.
Another client had a group of scarce and rare coins,
several of which would have attracted attention if offered singly, but he wanted
them sold as one lot under the "Miscellaneous U.S. Coins" category,
for he felt that they would bring more money that way, and that two or three
pieces which were rather ordinary would go along with the tide and do better in
the company of rarities. He was right, and the lot sold for significantly more
than what we figured was the sum of its individual parts. In our auction of the
Abe Kosoff Estate (veteran dealer Kosoff is remembered as the founder of the
Professional Numismatists Guild) we sold a huge group of late-date Mercury dimes
of the 1934-1945 era in a single lot for $18,150, far more than observers felt
the pieces would have brought if offered in smaller groups. Someone wanted to
get a "corner" on a large supply!
